Court Denies BP Motion to Strike Jury in Spill
Court Denies BP Motion to Strike Jury in Spill
By: Mark Tufts
In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon” in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, (E.D. La., March 30, 2015) (Barbier, J.).
On March 30, 2015, Judge Carl Barbier denied a Motion to strike the jury filed by BP. The State of Alabama brought claims under OPA 90, general maritime law and Alabama State law. Previously, the court struck all claims under state laws leaving the claims under OPA 90 and the General Maritime Law standing.Finding that the claims under OPA 90 are claims at law and "analogous to the common law writs of trespass ..." the 7th Amendment guarantees a right to trial by jury. In addition, " the State’s participation in the Limitation Action provides no basis to strike their jury demand."
A copy of the decision can be found here:
We wish to thank Kevin McGlone of Sher, Garner, Cahill, Richter, Klein, & Hilbert for making us aware of this decision.
